Package Deal
by 50shadesofnightshift
Summary: A sad case at the ER ends up with Drew and Rick getting the family they only dreamed of.
1. Chapter 1

_My Christmas gift to you all! Another (short) take on Brianna (and her sister) joining the Alister-Lincoln family!_

 _ **A Package Deal**_

 _An alternate beginning to Brianna's meeting Drew…with a few more twists._

 _Disgusted. Appalled._

There were no words to describe how Dr. Drew Alister first felt about this case at first. The sweetest, most loving thirteen-year-old girl had been admitted to hospital three months ago. Her name was Brianna. She had Cystic Fibrosis, she-and her five-year-old maternal half sister, Jorja, who suffered from Lupus and experienced up to three seizures a day were now abandoned by the foster family who had cared for them for eight months. Both had been in the system their whole lives. The only bright spot being, thanks to determined caseworker most of that time the two were placed together. Jorja had been a sickly child all her life, beginning with her premature birth at just 25 weeks and it was only a year ago her condition were formally diagnosed. Thus, her bad health being "out of control." A team of doctors who Drew and his husband knew were doing the very best to try to stabilize the younger child's condition.

Drew and then just quickly his husband Rick, had bonded with the siblings. Almost overnight, the process of them adopting, fostering the girls first, started. When Brianna was admitted to the hospital she was in dire need of a double-lung transplant. Without it, even Drew couldn't fool himself that the teen would survive more than three months. After two months and the candidate ahead of her passing away Brianna received that chance of an extended, better life. A month following the surgery, Brianna was doing well. Jorja was stabilizing at a snail's pace. Brianna was happy to have her transplant but she was adamant she was _not_ leaving San Antonio Memorial without her "baby," Jorja. Her doctors knew separation would cause Brianna such a level of stress it would affect the success of the transplant refused to discharge Brianna, unless or until it was to Drew and Rick and Jorja was being placed with her.

Jorja nowhere near healthy enough to be discharged and would go into an anxiety attack, often triggering a seizure if she didn't get to see her "sissy" every day and for more than a few minutes. Rick Lincoln had already resigned from his SWAT team position to be a stay-at-home dad to the girls whenever they released from the hospital. Both he and Drew were approved to foster the siblings once the required medical training (which they were currently doing) was complete.

Although Brianna was blonde and Jorja's hair was black and curly, both sisters had the same blue eyes, dimples and impish grin. It was only now Jorja was really starting to talk to them, literally, in the slightest about _anything._ Jorja spoke to nurses and doctors just enough to let them know how she was feeling. She talked non-stop with her sister. Brianna was like a mini-mom to her sister with the exception of the discipline part. She had been all of her life, even when she herself required an oxygen tank to breathe. Before the teen was put under for her lung transplant, she begged Drew to take care of Jorja. Her sister her only concern. Brianna didn't regain consciousness for over a week after that. That time leaving Jorja inconsolable. The reunion between the sisters made the most seasoned nurses wipe away tears. When the couple bought the subject of adoption to Brianna, she literally jumped for joy. They asked Brianna if she thought her sister would approve too.

"Definitely!" Brianna grinned. "She loves you, Rick. No adult ever sat down on the floor, play with her, sang songs with her before. That's her favorite thing to do. A lot of people thought it was humiliating."

 _People take themselves too seriously,_ Rick thought. Sure it wasn't for everyone but Rick enjoyed that time too. Jorja's laughter was precious! Even if it was "silly" the sound of Jorja's giggles were worth it.

Standing outside the door both in their street clothes the two men while Brianna told Jorja that they would have to leave the hospital sometime, but together, she reassured her. I won't ever not leave you, she said. But how would she like it if Drew and Rick became their dads?

"For how long?" Jorja asked.

Nothing had ever been permanent in their lives. The two sisters had been each other's only

"Forever. They want to adopt us."

The little girl cheered.


	2. Chapter 2

_**Chapter Two**_

Getting Brianna to let go of her care taker role with Jorja, and just be a big sister, was going to be a task. There was nothing wrong with their close bond. But both Brianna and Jorja had to learn to let adults take on that role. The two sisters came home three weeks later. Jorja had a lengthy regime of medicines now but her seizures were less severe and down to one a day over three. For now, that was good. The hope was that if the seizures couldn't be kept at bay completely they would dwindle down to every few weeks. The little girl begrudgingly let Rick bathe her and get her ready for bed. She was still trying to understand what she was told.

"So, Bri is not a big girl? She can't take care of me?"

 _Oh boy. The questions._ Rick thought. "Brianna is a big girl but she isn't a grown-up. Taking care of kids like you is a grown up's job."

The girls had the summer before they had to start their new school. A semi-private one in their new neighborhood. Both had missed so many days this year they were going to have to repeat a grade. Brianna was going to have repeat the eighth grade and Jorja was going to repeat kindergarten.

"How do you and daddy know how to take care of kids?"

How fast Jorja and Brianna became comfortable calling both of them 'daddy' was a surprise. Being called 'daddy' stirred up more emotion in both men than they ever thought it would. Having written off fatherhood in their teens because of their sexual orientation, hearing that word every day was an incredible feeling.

The answer was bit of a stretch. "Lots of our friends have kids. You guys aren't that complicated. We even like the same food and videos."

Rick introduced Jorja a.k.a. "baby girl" to her sister or their dads' "cuddle bug" to the classic _Looney Tunes_ and _Tom and Jerry_ thanks to YouTube. "it was a nice break not to sensor the content of what their youngest watched. Brianna they learned had a love for horror movies and already watched a lot of the gory movies they wouldn't let her watch as parents. If she already seen them what was the sense of forbidding her to watch the movies again? When they asked Brianna if she ever let Jorja watch those movies with her, Brianna rolled her eyes.

" _No!_ I would never sleep alone _again!_ Neither would you guys! I do like _some_ space. I'm guessing you two do, too."

Rick Lincoln's parents were very proud of him. When he had come out to them after his accident, their answer was "tell us something we don't know." When he added he had been in a secret relationship with Drew Alister, a close "friend" of his since basic training, their answer was "we knew that, too." No "friend" dropped everything, rearranged his life and home to care for someone after a major operation like an amputation when their son had other options. His mother added "you picked a good one!" The older couple were excited about being grandparents but knew meeting Brianna and Jorja wasn't going to happen just yet. Like everyone else they had to checked by the state first.

Sadly, Drew wasn't so lucky. His parents were _not_ going to be a part of his children's lives and it was their own doing. Having a different parental reception hadn't divided the couple. Drew was relieved his husband hadn't had to endure the same rejection. The doctor thought his in-laws were great. They treated him like a son, too. Both were glad their foster children would have grandparents, even if they couldn't have all four. Drew did worry that his strained, practically non-existent relationship with his parents would keep he and Rick from adopting. However, the caseworker said this was a "sadly common" issue in the bible belt and the system, no matter how broken it was by necessity no longer used that as a factor or the shortage of children in need of foster, not just adoptive homes "would be damn near impossible." As long as this "dysfunction" wasn't displayed in front the children it wasn't an issue.

No problem. Drew didn't plan to invite his parents to Texas anytime _at all_. They never visited on their own accord either. The heat was too much all year around. His marriage to Rick was icing on the proverbial cake when it came to his sexual preference. His father told Drew "well, I'm just glad you two can't reproduce and you'll probably have a hell of a time with trying to figure out who's sperm to use with a surrogate since Texas will rightly give ya a hard time tryin' to adopt."

Apparently Jacob Alister wasn't in the loop on the latest Supreme Court ruling. But that was okay. Brianna and Jorja needed love and nurturing not more bigotry in their lives.


	3. Chapter 3

_**Chapter Three**_

Jorja was five but was much smaller than most kids her age. Her premature arrival and her weighing just under two pounds at birth probably contributing to that. Drew was able to learn that the cause for the premature birth was her mother's dangerously high blood pressure. Jorja was born at county general hospital by emergency C-section by being transferred to the NICU at St. Luke's where she spent four months before being released to foster care. Jorja's mother didn't ever come to the hospital to see her child, a repeat of Brianna's birth. Through friends at the courthouse Rick was able to find out that like with Brianna she voluntarily terminated her rights. After two years and six paternity tests, a judge terminated the rights of Jorja's unknown father. Two weeks after Jorja was born, her and Brianna's mother was found dead in the motel room she was living out of. An autopsy concluded she had died from sepsis. According to the report the woman left the hospital against medical advice as she was at risk for infection from her surgery. She was advised to return to the hospital when she started to get sick but refused to.

As for Brianna's biological father? He was serving his second prison stint for drugs. He had been all too eager to waive his rights when he found out her condition. He said Brianna "probably be dead soon anyway." This eliminated any potential custody battles with fathers or family members who might come out of the woodwork. Even with relatives who could claim they "didn't know" about Brianna or Jorja because even they had a limited window of time. Too bad this didn't speed up the progress. _If_ things went the way they were supposed to, they would adopt the sisters in the same hearing.

Despite Rick's friends having recommended the best nannies who had the medical qualifications required to look after their new foster children once they were adopted, Rick still refused. Maybe his buddies "didn't get it" and he betted that none thought being a stay-at-home parent wasn't a job for a man. The former army captain knew they still wanted him on the force but his daughters won out over them. None of his fellow officers were gay as far as he knew, he had been in the closet long enough to know if someone else was. He would never say it aloud but his heterosexual SWAT team colleagues took fatherhood for granted-only a few had relationships or marriages because it was just a realty that relationships for law enforcement officers were complicated. Those friends didn't understand either, that Brianna and Jorja's beginnings made them different from others (besides their medical needs). They had never known parental love and attachment. The two only ever had each other. For Brianna and Jorja to learn that they needed a dad there 24-7.

"She lets you hold her and carry her, I noticed," the siblings' caseworker was there for a monthly visit.

Besides Brianna, Jorja had been resistant to letting people hold her. No other foster parent had received hugs and kisses, no matter how much they begged. Her affection was solely for her sister, the only person she seemed to trust. She had been perched in Drew's arms, looking quite relaxed when the women arrived. Reading a child's body language was something was one of the things the caseworker was trained in. Jorja was very relaxed. She was now playing with her Legos nearby. Brianna was in her room. The visitor asked to speak to the adults first. Drew nodded at the inquiry.

"She can be quite the snugglebug," he said.

Jorja really trusts her sister's judgement, the woman said. Maybe she decided it was worth a try trusting you guys. in the past few days was Jorja was less clingy to her sister. The teen was relieved to have the personal space, only because she had started to trust the couple faster than her younger sister. Brianna knew their foster dads would take good care of Jorja and the five-year-old needed her own time with them to establish their own relationship. They had always treated the girls the same but because Brianna was older and able to express herself and feelings more she was able to bond with the couple faster. In the past week Drew and Rick had managed to start a calming bedtime routine with the five-year-old. If Drew wasn't on shift both he and Rick would sit with Jorja and talk about their day before helping Jorja get ready for bed. Then they would read her a bedtime story and one of them would stay with her until she fell asleep. After the first night it was evident this helped Jorja sleep _all_ night, instead of her taking a very long time to sleep and then waking several times a night.

The results all the next day were amazing. Jorja was calmer, used her words more instead of whining and pointing. She had even gone twenty-four hours without experiencing a seizure.

"Wow," Kate, the caseworker said. "All with something so simple."

When Kate spoke to Brianna alone, she could tell the teenager was happy. She told Kate this was the family she and Jorja were meant to have, even if they didn't have a mother. A lot of kids didn't have one dad, she said. She and Jorja had two. Brianna said she was trying to be calm about it but she was still worried that a judge would say "no" to two girls being adopted by two men.

"I just gotta hope that don't happen," she said.


	4. Chapters 4 and 5

_**Chapter Four**_

 _School._

That was a big adjustment for both girls. But it would be the last new school they would have to put up with. Jorja didn't like having to repeat Kindergarten. She remembered certain things from the school year prior. She still remembered how to write her name and most of the alphabet and could read simple words. But like the first time around she struggled with math. Her teacher respected that the child had been in this grade before and didn't try to make her start "from stretch." Jorja's reading level was higher than the usual even for repeat kindergartner. But she had been being read to by her sister since she was doll-sized infant just released from the NICU. That made a difference. Jorja hated school for more than because it was "boring."

Some of her classmates teased her because she was small and pale. Kids were always asking "what's wrong with you? Why are you so small and always pale? Why do you got circles underneath your eyes? You look like a raccoon! "

Her only relief was she didn't have to take her medicine in front of those same kids. She did that in the privacy of the nurse's office. The principal arranged to have the nurse come to class to explain Jorja's illness and her appearance without her present. The nurse stressed Jorja was just like any other child. It hadn't helped much. So far Jorja hadn't had any seizures at school. A student aid was there to whisk Jorja out the classroom at the beginning signs of a seizure and tend to the situation -and only for that. Otherwise the aid left Jorja on her own.

Brianna had an easier time making friends despite she was getting fed up with explaining how she had only known her foster parents less than a year and yes, she said she called them both "dad.". Her outlook was different from her sister's. She wanted to make friends her own age. Now that the sisters had parents, Brianna could be a kid. She wasn't going to stop being a great sister but it was all she had to be, finally. Brianna was now best friends with Riley Jennings the daughter of a female, now former army major and surgeon Drew had first met during his final tour of duty. Riley and her mother, Syd had been family to Drew and Rick even before they met their daughters. Syd was out of the army now too. She worked the day shift at San Antonio Memorial Hospital.

 _ **Chapter Five**_

Six months ago, neither Drew or Rick couldn't imagine a night that made their blood boil would lead to a day so full of joy.

And be the _best Christmas gift ever._

It was December twentieth. The couple, with Brianna and Jorja supported by the entire shift staff went before a judge to finalize both adoptions. Both girls had new middle names along with their new hyphenated last name. They were excited to write their new names when school started again. Brianna's new name was Brianna Daisy Alister-Lincoln and Jorja's was Jorja Jaymes Alister-Lincoln. Everyone was coming to a pizza party with Christmas cookies and ice cream at the family home afterwards.

The next day the family went to go get their Christmas tree. This was their first Christmas as a family and everything about it was a big deal. Jorja told everybody that "Santa Claus finally got it right. Me an' Bri got adopted!" She had asked a mall Santa for that since she was three-year-old. Talk about putting a volunteer in an awkward position. Her request this year would be much sim0ler. An easel, paints and markers so she could draw bigger pictures, the huge panda (that was actually bigger than her) that she seen at Costco and a tablet. She would tell him that her sister wanted a digital camera and a new tablet because hers was old and almost broken .Every kid (almost) had a tablet nowadays. Besides videos and games, there was educational apps that disguised games that help Jorja with her math problem. That was Santa's motive for getting Jorja the device this year.

* * *

Hot cocoa, shaped and decorated shortbread cookies were a great treat as the new family of four looked though the handmade Christmas ornaments bring sold at the tree farm. The older lady who was selling them she could customize them if someone wanted something special written on the bulbs. There was all kinds of _Baby's First Christmas_ bulbs but that wasn't what Brianna was looking for.

"My little sister and I finally got adopted from fostet care this week," she said, pointing to her parents and Jorja who were looking at colorful mittens. "I was looking for something for that but I can't find anything."

The lady suggested she could write _Our First Christmas_ with each girl's name and the year on them. Brianna liked the idea. She picked out a _Kung fu Panda_ with _Po_ on it for Jorja and a bulb with a stack of bulbs on it for herself. She tried to pay the woman but she refused.

"Your story made my day, honey," she said, "it's on the house."

Across the way Drew and Rick were laughing at Jorja in a set of reindeer antlers. It was too cute not to buy it for her. The afternoon was a blast. Rick's parents were flying in from Houston and would be there by that night. Drew would have to work the following night and the night after. But he had Christmas Eve and Day night off. T.C. was going to fill in for him. His friend said this holiday was too special to miss spending it with his family.

"You guys deserve to still be celebrating," he said.


	5. Chapter 6

_**Chapter Six**_

It was likely the combination of the excitement of seeing nana and papa, decorating the Christmas tree and too much candy and cookies that caused Jorja to throw up. That likely caused the seizure she had minutes later. The convulsion lasted less then three minutes and Jorja was alert and coherent, be it upset afterwards. Her seizures scared her but there wasn't need for her to go to the ER.

"You're all right, sweetheart," Drew said, rubbing her back and pacing the living room with her.

"Sorry," came muffled sob.

She thought her nana and papa would be mad at her for her getting sick.

"That's okay, pumpkin. We're not mad. That happens," Trent told his granddaughter.

Ginger ale made Jorga's stomach feel better. She stayed in Drew's arms for a while longer before going back to help Brianna set up the Christmas village, a pre-Christmas gift from their grandparents.

"See? You can make some things all better," Olivia told her son-in-law gently.

Drew smiled lightly. "Yeah. But that's the simple stuff."

It was the big issues Drew wanted to fix but couldn't, like Brianna's Cystic Fibrosis and Jorja's chronic Lupus. Drew had to leave for his shift soon. With his in-laws there his daughters were too busy to be bothered by him leaving for the night. Tonight was the ugly Christmas scrub top contest. This was Jordan's idea. Drew was not impressed with the tall, skinny elf temporarily glued to his scrub shirt. His husband and daughters were still laughing at it. Rick and his father said the elf looked like Drew.

Olivia told everyone to leave Drew alone.

He was beginning to think he should get her an extra gift.

"You're on the naughty list now," Drew whispered, kissing Rick at the door before he left.

"Perfect. Just what I was going tor," Rick whispered back with a wicked grin.

* * *

"Oh c'mon! it's not so bad!" Jordan laughed. "You could have had Toper's!"

Topher's shirt had a sparkly Christmas tree.

She had a point. Drew also thought she was brave to do that to her boss. T.C. had a huge and strange-looking reindeer on his shirt. Drew over-heard him say something about "punishing" his girlfriend for it later.

 _Gross,_ he thought at the visual. Then he remembered it wasn't much different than what _he_ planned to do to _Rick_ the next time he got his husband alone.

Jordan and T.C. didn't mind working during Christmas. It was definitely was the most strange time next to Halloween. Topher worked the past few Christmases as did Drew. Both earned the right to be with their families this year. Brianna and Jorja had been through enough struggles to last ten lifetimes and were still facing them daily. This being their first Christmas as a family both dads deserved to be home. Topher said he would work before Drew did, he and Janet talked about it.

"You feel like you guys woke up from a dream yet?" Topher asked Drew when they were on a break near the vending machine.

"It's still hard to believe," he said, smiling.

Drew said he hadn't expected his daughters would be so happy to be adopted, and just be together. As bad as Jorja and Brianna's anxiety at the thought of removed from them had been, the girls were terrified they would be separated. Knowing they would be together _forever_ and have a forever family too, made them not even care about presents from Santa.

It was sweet but sad at the same time.


	6. Chapter 7

_**Chapter Seven**_

Brianna had a half dozen full photo albums of herself and Jorja growing up together. Each of their life had only around ten photos but there was also a few of a very, very tiny Jorja in the NICU at St. Luke's Hospital. Drew had seen newborns born at the same gestation. They were in the same weight range as their youngest but seeing their own daughter (adopted or not) like this was a shock to him and his husband. If how tiny the baby was, wasn't amazing enough, it was knowing that not all babies born this early survived. Jorja didn't understand her parents' and grandparents' silence.

"That's me!" She said, pointing at the photo, unfazed by the tubes and I.V lines in the images. "Sissy says I was like a doll."

"I bet you were," Rick said, hugging Jorja.

Missing from the photo array when Jorja was finally out of the hospital were any pictures of her with smiling parents. But there were several ones of Jorja and a beaming Brianna the first time she met her sister. It was in the foster home because children weren't permitted in the NICU. Even then Jorja indeed looked like a doll. Christmastime was the first time Brianna felt comfortable enough to show her new family these memories. There were some notes written from their foster mother from that time.

 _Baby Jorja will not sleep for more than two hours and will cry incessantly if her sister isn't around. She was home a week and we had no other choice but to move her with Brianna. Brianna didn't see this as a problem, in fact she was happy about it. Whenever Jorja cries at night now she stops almost immediately. It's like she believes Brianna is her mama._

They wouldn't let me fed her at night, Brianna said. They said I had to sleep.

First of all, a little girl of eight shouldn't feel that responsible for her sister, Drew thought angrily. But with four other high-need children besides Briana and Jorja, even though she was a tiny baby Jorja didn't get the normal amount for cuddles and attention a baby in a typical situation would. Because of that, a younger Brianna stepped in to love her sister in a way another temporary caregiver didn't seem to have time to.

 _Brianna doesn't want to go to school since her baby sister came home._

Brianna blushed and smiled at her family as they read this.

It _was_ true. Jorja wasn't held as much as she should be when her sister wasn't around. That was obvious with how excited Jorja was at the end of every school day. These photos helped the girls' new parents understand the beginning of the sisters' strong bond. It went much deeper than blood. Another note understood why the two had been so anxious about being adopted separately. They could been.

 _A psychologist testified at a hearing today that neither Brianna would not "get over it" if she and Jorja were permanently separated and Jorja wouldn't "forget about her sister."_

 _A couple in their 30's wanted to adopt Jorja but refused to take Brianna. "A terminally teen wasn't in their plans." If the couple adopted Jorja they didn't want her to have any further relationship with her sister "regardless of how short Brianna's life might be. It would be easier for Jorja when Brianna passed away." They wanted Jorja to have "clean slate, complete with a whole new name." The caseworker, Kate was against this and so was I. Thankfully so is the presiding judge._

 _Holy fuck!_ Rick thought. How can such people be allowed to adopt?

No wonder the children were so traumatized. Kate and the judge who ordered the girls be adopted together were heroes here. This note was dated around the time Jorja was two-years-old. This was when she was doing well for a toddler who was born so premature. It was just a few months later would start to experience the symptoms that led to her Lupus diagnosis. Knowing how Jorja's health was now, this "loving couple" likely would have disrupted the adoption or not completed the process.

Her bottom lip quivered at the note and the memories it bought back. Rick wrapped his oldest daughter in his arms.

"We love you so much. You know you guys are safe, now, right?"

"Yeah. Thanks to you guys."


	7. Chapter 8

**_Chapter Eight_**

 _She's not a baby. You are coddling her. You should stop picking her up so much!_

 _Mind your own business, Jorja's dads felt like saying. She is not yours, so don't worry about it._

Yes, Jorja's parents carried her a lot. People forget the child's disease left her fatigued and her muscles ache, especially after a full day at school. Not that it was any of their business. Jorja would sometimes fall asleep in the backseat on the way home from school. The private school their daughters attended was experimenting with a year-long ban on homework to find out if giving the students free time to be with their friends and family and for hobbies helped academic performance and student stress. Not to mention parental stress. So far the outcome was positive according to school memos. Drew wasn't the only parent who hoped this would stay this way. Putting parents aside, children deserved a break from assignments. Without homework Jorja in particular had time to relax and play before dinner, bath and bedtime. This was especially beneficial on nights when Drew was working. Just hanging out with his daughters was better doing homework. Now that Jorja was talking much more she was asking questions that her older sister asked other adults years ago.

"Daddy, why am I smaller than other kids in my class? They call me a baby!"

Jorja wore clothing and shoes two sizes smaller than other girls her age. No one was sure if that was her premature birth, her illness or just the gene pool she came from. Brianna wasn't tall for her age but she wasn't exactly short either. She fell into the average category despite her Cystic Fibrosis. Jorja complained to Drew that one girl in her teased her saying "my little sister is two and is your size!"

Drew told Jorja everyone was different. Some people were short and some were tall. The genetics, illness and prematurity factors the girl would figure out eventually. She was a bright girl. He didn't say "don't let it bother you" because that would be disregarding what Jorja was feeling at the moment.

Jorja perked up telling the rest of the story.

Sadie, that was the girl's name, pointed Jorja out to her mother and said "that's the weird kid and she got two dads, too! The whole family are freaks!" The mother scolded her daughter for her words, saying "we don't say those things! You know families come in all different types. You are in trouble when we get home, lil' lady!" The woman then turned to Jorja. "I'm sorry, sweetie. What's your name?"

Jorja told the woman her name.

"You're not weird, Jorja. You're a very beautiful girl. I love your eyes. I'm sure you have the best daddies in Texas. Don't be upset, all right, darling?"

Jorja nodded. If Sadie were in trouble with her mom, that meant her mom wasn't mean like Sadie. And perhaps Sadie would get a toy taken from her or not be allowed to go somewhere fun when she got home. That was her parents would do if she were mean to someone.

"And do you know what people say about short people?" Drew asked. "it's a nice thing."

"What?"

"They say good things come in small packages. There's nothing wrong with being small."

One thing that Jorja had taken well to-that neither parent thought about, was school lunches. The school had different hot lunches every day. Jorja had a bologna or ham sandwich all the times "just in case" but so far that turned into an after school snack except for the day Tofu salad was on the menu. She told Rick she took two bites but it was "super yucky." The baked—not fried chicken (because the school was trying to feed students healthier options) and green beans and mashed sweet potatoes was her favorite so far. Rick and Drew weren't worried that Jorja wouldn't eat her food (though they would give her a sandwich to be sure) she wouldn't let herself starve and by lunchtime Jorja was always hungry.

School was a struggle for the little girl but her parents and sister were proud she was doing so well.


	8. Chapter 9-10

_**Chapter Nine**_

Chronic illness in children put a lot of strain on relationships and the ones who really suffered were any children involved. Parents needed and deserved support Rick often thought couples didn't try hard enough nowadays and then blamed the children and their unasked-for troubles when they split up. It was the ultimate cop-out. Drew saw so much of that at the hospital. He and Rick weren't perfect and their relationship was work at times _but_ they weren't going to blame that on their daughters or their illnesses. The couple often that they should write a manual to show people how things should be handled.

When Drew heard the child and their condition being blamed for a divorce, he wanted to shake the parents. As if a child didn't feel bad enough, he or she was now saddled with the guilt of divorce, even if they were told the situation wasn't their fault. Tonight the hospital therapist had to be called down to the emergency room to try to resolve an argument between two arguing soon-to-exes. Luckily their young son was admitted, asleep and on his way upstairs before his parents _really_ started going at it. Drew wanted to smash their two heads together but he said nothing as he filled out forms at the nurse's station. The husband was storming outside, the therapist following him.

"You must think _it's so easy_ ," the mother hissed.

"Actually I _know_ it's the opposite," Drew said. "But I'm not the issue. That little boy's well-being is. Now if you'll excuse me," he said taking another file and walked away.

 _Easy._

That wasn't a word that could be used much lately in the Alister-Lincoln home. They were still a happy home but things were rough lately. Rick's leg was infected and he had to leave his prosthesis off for a week, leaving his husband naturally frustrated. There had been a close call with Brianna when the school called and said the girl had a rash. Thankfully her bloodwork came back normal and the culprit was the material from her new sweater, not organ rejection. Two days before Jorja had suffered a bad seizure. So much so an ambulance had to be called to the school and Jorja was hospitalized overnight. Hopefully tonight the little girl was back in her own bed. After being in a hospital bed for a night, Jorja cried to sleep with her parents ever since.

Rick tried not to be impatient with his girls because of his pain and having to use crutches for a bit. He did acknowledge his leg hurt. He didn't want to take much heavy pain medication though his husband suggested so Rick could get some sleep while the girls were at school.

"Do I have to slip it into your food?" Drew said. His husband was exhausted from lack of sleep from being in pain and with Jorja waking him up. "Honey, I'll be here. I got the kids. Have you forgotten that this a partnership? You need to sleep, you will have more for the girls when they get home."

"Deal. I guess you're cooking dinner then." Rick said kissing his husband.

* * *

 _ **Chapter Ten**_

The mission tonight was simple. Get Jorja to sleep in her own bed while still being sensitive to her fears after being in the hospital. Yes, it was "daddy's hospital" and his friends were there but that didn't make it less upsetting. Chances were if Jorja decided to get into her big sister's bed if she woke up scared, Brianna wouldn't "rat her out." Her big sister simply didn't mind. The little girl didn't keep her awake, only crawled in bed and went to sleep. And to Brianna it was what big sisters did. Surely Jorja would grow out of it in time. This too was really rooted in the siblings' traumatic start in life and only having each other for so long.

Drew and Rick reassured Jorja that nothing was going to happen to her during the night. If it did, the video and audio monitor they had in her room would let them know. These monitors weren't a "babying" behavior on the part of her parents. It was suggested by her doctors at this point. It was something else they hoped they would have to use in time.

"Brianna needs her sleep, too," Rick told her.

"But I don't wake sissy," Jorja protested.

Drew couldn't help but smile. "I know you don't. But you're a big girl. You need to sleep in your bed. Me and daddy will be here if you need us."

Drew had one more person to hover over.

"How's your leg?" He asked as Rick climbed into bed. "I should check it."

"That's your idea of foreplay? So sexy," Rick said rolling his eyes.

"Don't have me go all Christian Grey on you," Drew grinned.

 _The end for now...because I am out of ideas._


End file.
